Keep Building
I learn and see things visually so I can easily imagine Jerusalem and the Temple back in the days of its greatest glory…with the presence and power of God like a cloud hovering over the Ark of the Covenant and the courts packed with eager worshippers.
So, it’s hard for me to let my imagination go to the general state of destruction and disrepair that confronted the exiles returning after 70 years of exile in Babylon.
This is where the Book of Ezra picks up the narrative of the remnant coming back to the City of God.
“In early autumn, when the Israelites [who returned from exile] had settled in their towns, all the people assembled in Jerusalem with a unified purpose.” (Ezra 3:1 NLT)
The word there, unified, literally means…as one man, having the force of one, shoulder-to-shoulder. And the focus of that unity was on two sequential actions…
- First, to rebuild the dismantled, neglected, broken-down altar of God, where the people could come in response to God’s call to repentance and be restored in their relationship with God.
- The second thing that unified the returning exiles, after the altar was rebuilt, was to rebuild the foundation and the temple…where God would dwell amongst His people.
In these unprecedented and treacherous last days I believe that God is calling His Church to do exactly what the returning exiles had to…rebuild its altars, where people are reconciled to God through Christ Jesus, and restore His holy temple, where He dwells with His people in intimacy.
But, even as this one goal moves us to unity of purpose, it would be naive to think that the enemy of God is going to sit back and watch us give ourselves to rebuilding the altar and temple of God unopposed.
“…they [the syncretistic idol worshippers who had inhabited the land before the exiles returned] approached Zerubbabel and the other leaders and said, ‘Let us build with you, for we worship your God just as you do. We have sacrificed to him ever since King Esarhaddon of Assyria brought us here.’” (Ezra 4:2 NLT)
But these people were imposters and no interest in restoring the altar or temple of God. Their only interest was in protecting their positions, their influence, and their possessions.
Fortunately, the leaders of the exiles were on to them,
“But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other leaders of Israel replied, ‘You may have no part in this work. We alone will build the Temple for the Lord, the God of Israel…’” (Ezra 4:3 NLT)
So, when infiltration didn’t work…
“…the local residents tried to discourage and frighten the people of Judah to keep them from their work.” (Ezra 4:4 NLT)
And, when discouragement and fear didn’t work, the local residents…
“…bribed agents to work against them and to frustrate their plans.” (Ezra 4:5 NLT)
And, when that didn’t work they wrote a letter of accusation against the remnant to the Persian king, Artaxerxes (Ezra 4:12-24).
And the FAITH of the remnant was finally DEFEATED and the rebuilding of the altar and ground to a halt.
But that is not where the story ends.
“At that time [with fear rampant and the rebuilding halted] the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. They prophesied in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.” (Ezra 5:1 NLT)
When it seemed that all was lost, God sent His word, His “davar,” in the mouths of the prophets to stir and awaken His people. Dr. Rickie Moore, of Lee University, says that the Hebrew word used for the “word” of the Lord that came to the prophets of God…is way more than the transmission of information. It is a quantum of transformation.
And, in this instance, the word of the Lord changed everything!
It lit a fire in the remnant.
“Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jehozadak responded by starting again to rebuild the Temple of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them and helped them.” (Ezra 5:2 NLT)
To me, the rebuilt altar and temple today represent a restored culture of response to God.
Every time you hear His voice, sense His presence, feel His conviction and DO NOTHING about it…you harden your heart and move yourself further and further from Him.
The good news is that God is with us and promises us to draw near and give us the victory.